<p>Richard Rodney Bennett is a contemporary of Birtwistle and Maxwell Davies but his musical life has pursued a very different path. From his childhood onwards music was there for him. His mother was a pupil of Holst while his father wrote children's books and ballad lyrics. But his frailty meant that the young Richard was sent to boarding school, so he hard ... Show More
Sep 2024
Wasfi Kani, founder of Pimlico Opera and Grange Park Opera
Please note: This programme includes very strong, racist language describing the racial challenges Wasfi Kani faced when growing up in London.In this insightful interview, Norman Lebrecht sits down with Wasfi Kani, the visionary opera director and founder of Grange Park Opera. Ka ... Show More
43m 28s
Sep 2024
Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen
Norman Lebrecht talks to the Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen, about her meteoric rise to fame as one of the greatest operatic voices alive today.In this episode, Norman Lebrecht interviews Lise Davidsen, the rising star of the opera world renowned for her powerful voice and comma ... Show More
43m 43s
May 2023
Arnold Schoenberg: The Man who Changed Music
Captain, We Hit A Schoenberg! Did Arnold Schoenberg break Classical music? Widely considered the greatest composer of the 20th century, Schoenburg’s innovations in ‘atonality’ (a term he detested throughout his life) changed the trajectory of music forever. In this episode, Joann ... Show More
27m 21s
Jun 2021
Richard Thompson, "Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice 1967-1975" (Algonquin Books, 2021)
Richard Thompson's Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice 1967-1975 (Algonquin Books, 2021) gives fans of his music a tale as rollicking and entertaining as the reels and ballads he recorded with the band Fairport Convention. Fairport Convention was one of the central bands ... Show More
47m 58s